Alcohol Linked with 88,000 Premature Deaths Yearly

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Excessive alcohol consumption remains a leading cause of
premature death in the United States, responsible for 1 in 10
deaths among working-age adults, according to a new study from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Researchers used the CDC's Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI)
online application to estimate total number of
deaths that were attributable to alcohol among U.S. adults
ages 20 to 64, from 2006 through 2010. They also examined
years of potential life lost across the U.S. by gender and
age.

Excessive alcohol use led to nearly 88,000 deaths per year
over the study period, and shortened the lives of those who died
by about 30 years on average, said study researcher Dafna Kanny
of the CDC. "In total, there were 2.5 million years of potential
life lost each year due to excessive alcohol use," she said.

Alcohol is linked with deaths both from acute causes, such as car
accidents and falls, and deaths from chronic diseases. Deaths due
to
alcohol-related car accidents reached nearly 13,000 per year
during the study period, according to the report.

Among the chronic diseases that alcohol can cause, the most
common cause of death was alcoholic liver disease (14,000 deaths
yearly), followed by liver cirrhosis (7,800 deaths yearly) and
alcohol dependence syndrome (3,700 deaths yearly), according to
the study.

Most of the deaths that were related to excessive alcohol
consumption (71 percent) involved males, Kanny said. "Men are
more likely than women to drink excessively, especially
binge drinking, having five or more alcoholic drinks in one
occasion," she said. "Among drivers in fatal motor vehicle
crashes, men are almost twice as likely as women to have been
intoxicated."

According to the study, New Mexico had the highest number of
alcohol-related deaths, with approximately 51 deaths yearly per
100,000 people, while New Jersey had the lowest, with around 19
deaths per 100,000 people.

What can be done

The results of this study are consistent with similar studies
conducted on a global level, and reflect the substantial effect
that excessive drinking has on life span and loss of
productivity, Kanny said. Premature deaths due to alcohol
consumption, along with the reduced earnings by heavy drinkers,
were responsible for 72 percent of the estimated $223.5 billion
in economic costs due to excessive alcohol consumption in the
U.S. in 2006, she said.

Kanny offered suggestions on what can be done to decrease the
number of fatalities due to excessive drinking. "Health care
providers can use alcohol screening and counseling to help people
who are drinking too much," she said. "Adults can set a good
example for young people by not drinking excessively, and by not
providing underage youth with alcohol."

Other strategies, she added, include increasing taxes on
alcoholic beverages, reducing the number of retails outlets that
sell alcoholic drinks, and holding alcohol retailers liable for
injuries and damage following illegal service to intoxicated or
underage consumers.